Chasing Annabeth
by GreekFreak
Summary: Annabeth is getting married, and Percy comes up with a plan to stop her. Follow Percy as he tries to get another chance to win over his ture love!
1. Chapter 1

My flight back to New York had just arrived. I kept wishing over and over again that I didn't have to get on this flight. I remember the last time I was in New York; the night I said good-bye to her.

_"No. That's my final answer." Annabeth gave me a cold stare_

_ "Are you sure? I really don't want to go without you. Annabeth, please I'm begging you to come with me." _

_ "Percy, you can't expect me to go. I have my life here in New York, and I have dreams here in New York. I don't want to live in the Bahamas. I'm not putting my life on hold so you can fallow your dream and become a Marine Biologist. I'm an architect here. Again, my final answer is no._

_ "I thought you loved me!"I retorted_

_ "I do Percy, and I always will. But, if you love something you'll let it go."_

_ I shook my head and walk up the ramp that would take me to the Bahamas; away from NYC, away from Camp Half-blood, and away from Annabeth. I looked back but her blond head had already melted into the crowd._ I was twenty-one the day that happened; I am now twenty- five.

Then I remembered the day a white and frilly wedding invitation came. In flowing black script it read: _You are invited! On the twenty-fifth day of August, Annabeth Chase and Noah Evenfeilds will wed at the top of the Empire State building. We hope you can join us! _Than at the bottom was a picture of Annabeth and this guy, Noah. He was a nice looking man, the smart type. Jealousy flared inside me. Then, I suddenly had a plan; to break them up that is. All I needed to do was arrive one week early and everything would fall into place.

Day One

I stepped off the plane in New York. It was August seventeenth. My plan was about to be unraveled. I hopped in a cab and have the guy the address of Camp Half-Blood. When I got out of the car I instantly smelled strawberries. I smiled, I was so happy to be home. I ran down Half-Blood Hill right to the big house and greeted Chiron.

"Hello Percy how are you?" He asked

"Okay Chiron. But, I'm here for the wedding. Do you know where Annabeth is?"

"As a matter of fact I-…" But he was cut off because someone tackled me into a hug.

"Percy!" Annabeth was hugging me and was laughing "Come on! I got to show you something!"

She dragged me off towards the cabins. I muttered a good-bye to Chiron. He chuckled. We arrived at the Athena cabin. I could tell major changes had been made. The whole cabin was made out of silver, the roof had two huge skylights in it, and the front of it was totally redone. It had a huge owl sculpture with wings as if it were in-flight, and then on the right side was a statue of Athena, and then I noticed it was a huge fountain.

"Annabeth this is amazing! Did you do this?" I asked

"Yes, I got bored after I finished with Olympus." She told me

Then we were inside the cabin; which is just as amazing as the outside. The floor was tiled in silver and gold, the ceiling had an enormous owl painted on it, and the bunks were renovated too. The structures were hanging from the ceiling, each had a staircase to get up to it and each bed had matching owl bed sheets. Then I saw their study hall, which was as impressive as a college. That's when we arrived at Annabeth's study cubicle, and again I had a flash of simmering jealousy.

The cubicle had pictures all over it. In one Annabeth was graduating from high school. She had a broad smile with a blue robe and golden sashes. The next was of Annabeth graduating college, with her diploma displayed. The next picture was of Annabeth and Noah. His snake arm was around her, but she was still smiling. The next three pictures were like this. Then I noticed the last one which was the only one that was framed. It was taken right after the war with Kronos. Annabeth was in the middle smiling like a goof-ball, to her right was me. I was smiling but I was looking at her. Then to my right was Grover, who was smiling. On Annabeth's left was Nico, who just had a sullen expression. Then on his left was Juniper, who was smiling like the luckiest tree nymph in the world.

"Okay Percy what do you want to do today?" Annabeth asked

"Wait one question. Where's Noah?"

"He can't be here because he's not a half-blood. Oh, that reminds me, everyone is having dinner with him tonight. But again, what do you want to until then?"

"How about go to an aquarium? I always love those."

Her expression quickly darkened. "No Percy, no aquariums. I vowed never to go to one of those, ever."

"How about Olympus then?"

"Good choice. I can show you all that I've done!"

We got in a cab and started towards Olympus.


	2. A Dinner with a Donkey

Before I knew it I was standing in the lobby of the Empire State Building. It looked normal, and when I stated this to Annabeth I was smacked on the head and met with a "Just you wait and see."I was about to walk up to the front desk but Annabeth said:

"No Percy. I have my own."

"Oh, okay. When did they give those things out to random people?" Another smack

We stepped into the elevator._ Total Eclipse of the Heart_ was playing; how perfect. Annabeth didn't seem to notice; she slipped her card into the slot and pressed the 600 button. I was expecting to feel a tremendous pressure as we lifted but felt nothing.

"Improvements, huh?" I asked Annabeth just smiled.

We finally arrived. I stepped out into a large lobby with posted signs about where to go. The lobby was quite amazing; the ceiling was very high and was painted in gold with silver leafing, there was also a giant mural of the Olympians. I was about to walk towards the _Athena's Temple _sign figuring that's where Annabeth would want to go.

"Percy, we're going to Artemis' Temple. I told you that in the elevator." Annabeth said with rising suspicion in her voice.

"Uh…..Okay, momentary mental lapse?" I tried but, I was met with an eye roll

I started towards Artemis' sign. It was decorated with teeny stars and one glowing moon. We walked along a paved path that was curvy. When we got to the temple my jaw dropped. It was about the size of the big house, but it looked like a Greek temple. It was glowing silver, so brightly I had to shield my eyes. I walked inside, which was even more amazing.

The ceiling was all glass and looked up at a full moon and thousands of galaxies. Hanging from the ceiling were hundreds of half-moons and stars with candles in them. The alter was a sight. Coming from the back pillars were thousands of moon flowers cascading in a moon shape. A fire burned silver in the brazier. The source of light was coming from the skylight, which poured ultra-violet moonlight in. Decorated on the walls were art showing hunting expeditions. Next thing my eyes fall on was a huge slab of marble; when I got closer I saw it read _Fallen Hunters of Artemis_. A wave of sadness rolled over me; a few names that were quite clear to me were _Zoe Nightshade _and _Bianca Di Angelo_. This was so beautiful. This temple was so serine and quite, I think it just enhanced the beauty of it.

"Wow Annabeth. This is so gorgeous. I-I-I…"

"This is my favorite temple. I don't know why I just love to spend time here."

"I think I could learn to love it here." Annabeth looked over at me and smiled.

…

We were back at Camp Half-Blood, sitting on my cabin floor drinking blue coke.

"Annabeth, do you want to play a game?"

"Before I agree what's the game?"

"Truth. All you have to do is ask a question and the other person must answer it. If they can't, then the other player wins the game." I smiled hoping she would say yes.

"Alright I'll play, but, I'm asking the first question." She had a devilish smile on her face.

"Hit me with your best shot."

"Okay, Percy. Why didn't you become a god?"

"Easy. I wanted to be with you forever. Not with my father and uncles and aunts, plus many more people. My turn. Why didn't you tell me about Noah?"

"I didn't want to upset you and I just found someone who is always there for me. Perseus Jackson why didn't you come visit me?"

"You really do hit hard. I was still in love with you. My tur-"

"Percy you're such an idiot."

"Hey it's my turn! Okay. What do you think of Shaun White?"

"What?"

"What do you think of Shaun White? You know the snowboarder dude."

"He's a really good snowboarder. That was a stupid and random question."

"I was trying to lighten the mood. We were getting too deep for me."

"You're weird. Why did you leave?"

"I had dreams I wanted to peruse, and I could stand seeing places that my friends died every single day. Okay let me think… Why don't you love me anymore?"

"I-I-I Percy I have to go get ready for dinner. I guess I lose."

"No, we'll just put the game on hold, okay?"

"Fine."

I watched as Annabeth leave, and thought about how I most likely ruined my chances of breaking up her wedding. Just as I was about to go take a nap Grover and Nico came through the door.

"Percy, how have you been?" They asked in unison

"Fine" I said glumly

"Uh-oh, did you meet Noah?" Nico asked

"No."

"Did Annabeth show you the house they're moving to after the wedding?" Grover asked

"They're doing what? Why didn't she tell me that! That doesn't make me feel better, Grover!"

"I just wanted to know what happened! I'm sorry."

"It's okay dude."

"Then what happened?" Nico asked

"We played Truth."

"Then what's so bad about that Percy?" Grover asked

"Answers to questions I never wanted to know the answers to."

Grover's eyes got big as he looked at his watch. "I've got to go. I'm helping with set up at the party! See you later Percy!" He galloped out of the room.

"Nico?"

"Yeah, Percy."

"If I asked you to help me with something would you?"

"Of course."

"Help me break up Annabeth's wedding." I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Percy that's just what I was hoping you would ask that." A wide smile spread across his face.

After we came up with some pretty respectable ideas of how to break Annabeth's wedding up, Nico gave me some pointers on how to deal with the "Meet Noah" party.

"First, piss him off. If you can do that you're golden. Second, if you can't piss him off, then get alcohol into him. It's easier to piss him off. Third, get friendly with Annabeth. He gets very jealous very fast, especially when you do a combination of one and two. Also wear that gray tie that matches Annabeth's eyes. He hates gray, she loves it. Oh, and try not to order what Annabeth orders, you'll seem like too much of a copier. He loves to copy everything so, that won't piss him off. You think you can remember all of that Percy?"

"I think so. Let me get ready now."

"See you at dinner Percy." I gave Nico a hug and he walked out the door.

First I took a shower to clean my hair, and then got dressed. I put on a pair of nice pants and striped button down shirt. Then I added my favorite tie. It was gray, the color of Annabeth's eyes, with shells embroidered all over it. After I think I finally tied the tie correctly, I was off.

….

Traffic was heavy on the way to the restaurant, but, I was not late. When I laid eyes on the huge sign a lump grew in my throat. In broad, proud letters it said: **FISHMARKET NYC**. _Oh, crap. I really hate eating the fish who worship me, _I thought. I swallowed my pride and walked in the front doors.

"Hi, table for one?" A perky beach blond asked

"Uh, no. The name's probably under Chase or Evenfields."

Her face darkened. She sighed and said, "Oh, you're with them. Right this way.

We walked passed a huge lobster tank. _Master, save us! Yes, Master we will be forever faithful please help us! _I saw the huge table filled with Olympians and more assortments of magical things. Annabeth's mortal family was also there, but, Noah's weren't anywhere. The only seat left was right next to the lobster tank and a number of fish tanks. Annabeth came over to me.

"Percy! I can't believe you're here! Look at that you can't tie your tie right. Let me fix it."

Her delicate hands had my tie fixed in seconds.

"Hey, thanks." I said as I gave her a huge hug and looked over at Noah he had a snarl on his face. _Perfect, _I thought to myself.

"Do you want to go meet Noah?"

"Um, of course."

She took my hand and led me over to Noah. The picture on the wedding announcement had defiantly done him justice. In the picture his face had appeared clean, shaven and zit free. That's not the case in real life. The eyes that starred back at me were not light-brown but an ugly yellowish color. He sneered at me. Yellow teeth not white. All I knew was this: I needed to break off Annabeth's engagement to this thing before it hurt her. He reached his hand out to shake mine. I don't usually complain about the size of people's finger nails but his were just….. Ugh.

"Percy." He addressed me, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Noah, how are you doing?" I said as sweet and politely as if this was my own mother.

"Fine. I hope you love fish. I do. That's why we are having dinner here." He smiled evilly

_No, you dumb donkey. I don't eat fish. My father's Poseidon for gods' sakes! Of course I don't eat fish! _"No, I don't eat any sea food." I said as nicely as I could without screaming at him.

"Why, you one of them vegetarians?" He asked confused.

"No, I just don't eat seafood. I'm a marine biologist and prefer not to eat the things I study." I smiled

"Oh. The waiters about to come around with drinks so, maybe you should go sit down."

"Okay, then. Nice meeting you!" I gave the most artificial sweetener infused smile of my life.

I went and sat down. On one of my sides was Artemis. It was nice for her to drop in even though she doesn't support marriage. On my other side was Aphrodite. I smiled at them both just as the waitress arrived to get drink orders. All of the Olympians wanted only water, as I did. Annabeth's father and step-mother wanted iced tea. Her little brothers both wanted mountain dew, which was met with a disapproving look from their mother. Annabeth wanted a diet coke. But, Noah wanted some fancy form of alcohol. _Perfect! _Grover asked for a can of root beer and Nico wanted ginger ale. He winked at me from across the table, we both knew that alcohol+ Noah= Fun for us.

The waitress came around with the drinks. Noah downed his in seconds, and then asked for more and more. He had probably consumed a whole bottle of wine and he wasn't stopping there. Then we all ordered. Everyone wanted some form of fish except me, my father, and Annabeth. We three ordered linguini in Alfredo sauce and mushrooms. Then, the "fun" conversations started.

"So," Aphrodite started "How did you two meet?"

"Well one day at architecture school I saw this beautiful girl and knew she had to be mine. She had a boyfriend at the time so I waited. And when he finally broke her heart I was there for a shoulder to cry on at that's it." Noah smiled and my stomach lurched as I realized he was talking about me.

"That's so sweet!" Aphrodite cooed

"Where is it again you two are moving after you get hitched?" Hera asked.

"Um, Michigan." Annabeth answered timidly. I almost chocked on my water.

"That's so nice. Are you going to start a family?" Hera asked again

"NO" Annabeth said at the same time Noah said "Yes"

"What? I thought we talked about this Noah! I don't want a family! How many times do I have to tell you?" Annabeth was nearly yelling

"You've told me many times, but, what else is there to do if not that?" He asked

As Annabeth and Noah continued fighting, I got out my phone and chat boxed Nico.

**WaterBoy123 said: Do they do this a lot?**

**NicoRocks992 said: Yeah. But, wait and watch. You'll get madder. Let me tell you this: she won't break up with him. **

**WaterBoy123 said: What the Hades do you mean?**

**NicoRocks992 said: Watch him get physical with her. It's sad. **

**WaterBoy123 said: He does what?**

**NicoRocks992 said: He will punch.**

**WaterBoy123 said: I'm going to talk with her tomorrow. See what I can do!**

**NicoRocks992 said: Okay talk with you later!**

I started to watch their fight closely hoping I would see something so I had a reason to hurt Noah, hurt him very badly. But, much to my horror they made up about ten minutes later. It was all good with a hug. Anger flared inside me just as the waitress came around with our food. I ate slowly while almost everyone else gobbled theirs. I kept my eyes trained on Noah. Annabeth barely ate. Not soon enough dinner was over and the questions started again. This time I had one of my own.

"So, Noah, what do you do for work?" I asked

"I'm currently unemployed." He didn't seem too happy about this question

"What's the worst you've ever hurt Annabeth?" Nico asked as he gave me a sly wink

"Excuse me? I'm not answering that question." He said

"Actually I think you are." Her dad said

"Annabeth! Control your family!" He shouted

"I don't have control over them! They're human beings!" she retorted

"Annabeth you prudent little thing! Noah yelled as he punched her. Everyone went quiet. Red hot anger exploded inside of me. And then the lobster tank behind me exploded. _Master, thank you! We are free. Is there anything we can do? We know! Thank you master thank you thank you thank you! _And then the whole hoard of lobsters charged Noah. They pinched him over and over again while he was screaming "OUCH!" The whole table erupted in laughter, except Annabeth who ran out the door crying. I was about to get up and fallow her but, her step-mother beat me to it. Everyone paid their own bill and left Noah to clean up the lobster mess.

...

I was back in my cabin on-line searching _How to Break up a Wedding_ when my chat box popped up. It was Annabeth's dad on the other end.

**HistoryGuy3000 said: Hey Percy.**

**WaterBoy123 said: Hi Mr. Chase**

** HistoryGuy3000 said: I have a favor I want you to fulfill Percy. Do you think you can do that?**

** WaterBoy123 said: Probably. What's the favor?**

** HistoryGuy3000 said: Break up Annabeth's wedding. Please.**

** WaterBoy123 said: I'll try my hardest.**

**HistoryGuy3000 said: That may not be good enough Percy. You have to do it.**

**WaterBoy123 said: I will Mr. Chase**

**HistoryGuy3000 said: Thank you Percy.**

**HistoryGuy3000 has logged off.**

Now, I knew I had to break off the engagement. Nico and I had some pretty good ideas, but that may not be enough. If I was going to do this I was going to need more help the Nico and Mr. Chase. I was going to need a lot more help, some godly help. The air in my cabin seemed to shimmer and I averted my eyes just as a goddess appeared.

"Percy, I need your help." Athena was standing in my cabin.

"Yes?" I asked

"I have one small favor to ask you. I'm sure you can complete it. I need you to break up Annabeth's wedding. I'm sure you can do it. And in return I will give you all the recourses you need to complete this and help you win her over. Will you do it? Yes or no."

"I think I can help you."

"Good." I averted my eyes as Athena left.

It was time to talk to Annabeth. I opened my laptop to see if she was on. And yes **AbethIsSoSmart7 is logged on.** This just might work out the way I want it to. I clicked on her name.

**WaterBoy123 said: Annabeth are you there?**

**AbethIsSoSmart7 said: Of course Seaweed Brain. That's why it says "Logged On" Next to my name. : P**

**WaterBoy123 said: Can we talk about tonite?**

**AbethIsSoSmart7 said: It's TONIGHT Percy and I guess so.**

**WaterBoy123 said: I'm not sure you should marry this guy.**

**AbethIsSoSmart7 said: Why not?**

**WaterBoy123 said: He hit you Annabeth. That's not right.**

**AbethIsSoSmart7 said: He was drunk. That doesn't happen a lot.**

**WaterBoy123 said: A lot? You're going to regret this. So what do you want to do tomorrow?**

**AbethIsSoSmart7 said: I have to check on the cake in the A.M but, we could go to the beach after. Okay with you?**

**WaterBoy123 said: That sounds good. **

**AbethIsSoSmart7 said: Good night Percy. **

**AbethIsSoSmart7 has logged off.**

Darn, being a wedding crasher is harder than it looks.


	3. Sunshine on the Water Looks so Lovely

After I had my needed ten hours of sleep, I was finally able to pull myself over to the Athena cabin. It's a good thing I had my sun glasses on because the silver on the cabin was blinding in the white sun. Just as I was about to knock on the door it flew open. A very unhappy Annabeth greeted me.

"Where the heck have you been, Percy? I was ready to leave at 8 a.m.! Do you realize that it's eleven?"

Before I could begin to calculate a response she was holding my wrist dragging me off to her car. A shiny blue Prius was sitting right in front of me.

"Earth to Percy! Are you coming or am I going to have to kidnap you, and store you in my trunk?" Her words didn't register until a few minutes after; I was too busy looking at her white teeth, her lips curled into a joking smile, and her usually stormy gray eyes but it looked as if the storm had cleared and there were blue-gray skies. "Percy, are you getting in my vehicle so we can go check on my wedding cake?"

"Of course!" I got into the car and didn't let myself get too frustrated that her main goal for this outing was to check on her wedding cake. I would make her trip to the beach unforgettable.

"Navigate to CMNY Cakes." Annabeth said to nobody.

"Why are you talking to thin air? That seems weird even for you Annabeth."

What I thought was a semi-intelligent remark was met with a death glare. "Percy, I am talking to the GPS. Is that okay with you?" She looked at me with a look that a teacher might give to a kindergartener.

"Oh, yeah." I was trying to keep my "cool" factor but, I don't think Annabeth bought it.

"Navigate to CMNY Cakes." Annabeth told her GPS and we were off.

…

We were only about ¾ of our way through the trip when the car's phone rang. I never knew that cars could talk but apparently they can because Annabeth's asked her if she wanted to accept a call from Noah Evenfields.

"Yes," Annabeth told her car. A few seconds later the shmuck's voice came on. "Annabeth I was just calling to tell you that I'm going to be home late tonight. I'll probably be gone until 3 a.m. I have a job interview." "Oh, okay um I'll see you later." Annabeth had this look on her face that she was going to say something else but couldn't remember and said that instead. And then the phone called ended. "Okay. I have two questions. One, do cars usually talk or is it just yours? And two, who the heck has a job interview at three a.m.?" "Most cars can accept calls now. And I guess that Noah has a job interview at three a.m., there is nothing wrong with that." There was silence in the car the rest of the way there. … As we walked into the bakery my nose was greeted with the familiar smell of something burning, which usually happened when I tried to cook. Annabeth walked up to the smiling clerk at the front desk. "Hi," Annabeth greeted the clerk "I'm just here to check on the wedding cake I ordered a couple months ago. An order for Annabeth Chase?" Annabeth matched the big smile of the clerk. Then, suddenly the clerk's smile faded. "What? You ordered no cake. We have no order for an Anna! You should leave now…" Annabeth looked horrified. Then, the cook from the back came out. She also looked very worried. "Oh, uh, hi Annabeth!" Now she gave us a fake smile. "Sorry about the confusion Rosa is a new worker! But, um…, bye!" I was wondering why the baker had been so abrupt, but it all made sense after there was a quick explosion from the back of the room. Every one of us ran back to see what was going on. And there upon a table was Annabeth's cake, or presumably it was since it had a whole bunch of tiny building and owls on it. It was a real nice cake and I was jealous, for a minute. Then, the tall grand structure began to topple over and we all watched in horror. It landed right on Annabeth. As I looked out the window I saw Athena disappearing around the corner. _Yes! _I thought to myself. But, then I turned to face the cake-covered Annabeth. At that moment, if someone told me she was medusa, I would have believed them. After a few silent moments, Annabeth began to weep. I had never seen her this way. Staring death right in the face she had never even winced, but now here she was bawling over a cake. And that's when she ran out of the room. It's a good thing my mom taught me what to do after a women runs out of the room, so I followed her. …. Soon I was sitting in Annabeth's car, which happened to be driving very fast. My mind was churning up thoughts as fast as it could. I was trying to think about how to make her feel better, where I might find her a change of clothes, of course I couldn't forget breaking up the wedding. Her turn signal finally came on and to my surprise she pulled off into an alcove right by the beach. "Wow, this is beautiful," I muttered under my breath. "Yeah, it is. It always makes me at ease" I was surprised that she had responded. Maybe all of Athena's owl children had super-sonic owl hearing. Her door opened. She popped open the trunk and grabbed her beach bag out. I got out of the car. "I'm going to go change Percy. You can go get a soda or something at the snack bar." I walked to the snack bar and ordered a blue coke. Only until the cashier gave me one of _those _looks, did I realize that I could only order regular or diet. I quickly changed my order. Just then, a scantily clad woman rounded the corner and headed straight for me. _Oh god, _I thought, _I couldn't have been that drunk at Grover's New Year's Eve party, could I?_ She came right up to me reeking of a public bathroom and said, "I heard you need my help. Here's my card." Real worried I had gotten myself into something I shouldn't have; I summoned the courage to look down.

Ke$ha Jagger

Daughter of Apollo

Wedding Crasher

880-456-8876

To tell you the truth, I was surprised that Ke$ha even had a business card.

"I'll be waiting, Percy."

Annabeth then came around the corner, and hitched her arm through mine. We were walking along the board walk when the sky was just turning a light gold-gray. It reminded me of the setting of a romance movie I had once seen. By now we were at the end of the board walk. I sat down and motioned for Annabeth to do the same. We sat there for a solid five minutes. The sun was just low enough to catch all the blonde highlights in Annabeth's hair. I felt like I was sixteen again. Without thinking I leaned in and kissed her. Just like it used to be. Our mouths molded together like… like… like I don't know. I just know that it felt right. Kissing her… I knew this is where I belonged.

But then her phone rang. It read NOAH. I sighed. Annabeth's eyes glazed over like she had forgotten what we had just done. She hit talk.

"ANNABETH! Where are you? I want dinner now! I order you to come home."

"Um, okay. I thought you had an interview, but okay. I just have to drop of Percy."

"Fine. Just hurry up." Then the phone hung up.

And that, is how my happy ending came crashing down.


	4. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

I was lying in my cabin when there was a knock at my door. I mumbled "Come in!" to my pillow. I turned my head just in time to see Grover hauling a massive bag in. There were a number of things falling out of it such as wigs and make-up. Behind him Nico carried in three very sparkly, very reveling dresses.

"Hey bro how's it going?" Grover asked me

"Not well, I'm starting to think that Annabeth is being controlled by some sort of magic. Every time I almost break through to her, she gets this glazed look in her eyes… Things are just not going very well." Nico looked apologetic for a while but then got that familiar evil glint in his eyes.

"Well dude, I think that we have the solution to your problems," He looked at the bag and dresses "So, we've been following Noah for a while and you've probably guessed that he's not the most truthful person ever… actually, he rarely tells anything that's true. Well, tonight that supposed "interview" he has? That's totally bogus. He's going out partying with one of his friends."

"Nico that still doesn't explain why you're holding three dresses." Nico just looked at me and smiled.

…

"Ouch! I can't believe chick wear heels _all day!" _I complained. Nico and Grover's genius idea was that we should dress up as women and get Noah to hit on us. I now had weird silicone things stuffed down the front of my shirt, my hair easily covered by a platinum blonde wig that fell to my waist, I had to shave my legs, tweeze my eyebrows (luckily not into the almost nonexistent style), and Grover made me bedazzle my phone. _Shudder_. Now, Nico was standing in front of me (dressed in a very similar way) installing a hidden camera into my blonde hair-do, which I believe is called a Snooky-poof. Since none of us owned a car we were going to shadow travel to some sort of sleazy night club. I was not happy to be dressed as a woman, but if it means getting Annabeth back, I was willing to do it.

"Are you ready to go, Percy?" Nico extended his hand and I took it. Before long we were standing in the bar area of the night club. The music was extremely loud and even though it was before ten o'clock at night, there were at least ten people falling over drunk. As we crossed over onto the dance floor, the pulsating lights and loud music gave me a headache. But, it wasn't long until I spotted Noah. Grr… Even the sight of him made my blood boil. He was wearing a striped short-sleeved button down. Come to think of it, I had the exact same shirt… that upset me even more. I must have been a pretty good looking woman because he started doing this strange combination of dance walking towards me. I took a step back. Grover pushed me forward and hissed in my ear "where are you going! This is a good thing! Dance towards him!" I started the same strange dance walk over towards Noah. We reached each other before long.

"Hey, sexy!" I think that I was about to explode. I really wish that he could tell that I was a man and not a woman, but I played along.

"Hey! I don't know who you are calling sexy, but you are pretty _fine _yourself!" Did I really just say that?

"Hey baby, let me buy you a drink!" Ugh, he would probably put something in my drink! I looked over to Nico and he gave me a smile that said _I know that you don't want to, but you have to! _I walked over to the bar with Noah, praying that the weird stuff that Grover stuffed up the back of my dress would not fall out. Noah got the bartender's attention by waving a one-hundred dollar bill in front of his face. That was probably Annabeth's money that she had earned. I cannot believe that I was about to spend it. But, then again, it would work out better for her in the long run.

"Sexy lady!" Noah really needed to stop calling me that, "What do you want?"

"Ugh, a Budweiser would be nice" The bartender gave me a crazed look, "Oh, I mean I'd really like a strawberry daiquiri." The look left the bartender as he mixed up my drink.

"That will be $100.00, please." He extended his hand to Noah, Noah gave him a death glare but handed him the money anyway. I sat down and sipped my drink. Noah's eyes travelled up and down my body. This is even scarier that facing Kronos. After a while he spoke again.

"Hey, my car is parked right around the corner do you want to, ya know." His eyes got wide after he said this. It was going too far. I was defiantly not doing that! But, I had to stay in character.

"Ha, I've just got to go check in with my girlfriends! I'll be right back!" At this I hopped up and practically ran to get to Grover and Nico.

"He wants me to go to his car! I am not doing this! It's crazy!" Nico was the first to respond.

"Percy! This is what we wanted him to do! Now, go over there, let him think that he is going to get to, well you know. Then creatively get out of the situation! This is the chance that we have been waiting for!" Nico looked at me like this was going to be the only chance I was going to get Annabeth back. Well, she was my true love, isn't there a saying that people do crazy things when they're in love?

"Fine. But this is the last time that I'm ever dressing up as a woman. Period."

Grover laughed at what he perceived to be my joke. "Never say never, Percy. Did you ever think that you would ever dress up as a woman? Now, go romance Noah."

"Please don't tell me to _romance _him. I am simply hitting on him." At this, they both laughed and I waddled away in my super high heels back over to Noah, where he had found another woman to hit on. I had to slide myself in between the two and I put my arms over Noah's head and around his neck. To me, it was extremely uncomfortable to be this close to a man that I hated. Well, it was just uncomfortable to be this close to a man at all. But, I just had to keep a picture of Annabeth in my mind.

"Hey, baby. Let me just finish this drink and we can hop on out to your car." At this I gave him a wink and sat down while sipping my drink.

"God girl. You just have an amazing body. You have great legs. And your arms are so toned. And that rack. Do you have implants? Cause god loves you, if you don't." At this Noah reached out and touched one of my inserts. Gods, this is even more awkward than I thought it would be. It just got worse as he started to squeeze them. I was a nanosecond away from smacking him in the face when I heard a _pop _and felt warm water running down my stomach. I looked down in horror and saw that one of the "breasts" had totally deflated. There was no way that I was passing as a woman now. I did the first thing that I thought of. I threw my drink in Noah's face and sprinted to grab Nico and Grover. I dragged them into the shadows.

"Dudes, we have to go now. My boob popped." I never thought those words in the same sentence would pass my lips. I grabbed Nico's hand and he transported us back to Camp Half-Blood. In all the years he had time to perfect his shadow travel, he hadn't done it yet. Instead of being back in my cabin, we were standing in the middle of the Athena cabin. Where Annabeth was alone gathering some sketches in her arms. She looked up when the Nico fell over his heel. I never knew that someone's pupils could dilate that much, but Annabeth's eyes looked black. We locked eyes.

"Percy, is that you?" She fell silent and just kept staring. Nico and Grover took this opportunity to bolt, so I was left standing in the middle of the cabin.

"Annabeth let me explain. I did this all for you! I have proof."

"So, you dressed up as a woman with one breast to what? Impress me? Show me that Noah would never do that for me or what?" Her face had this look that begged me to explain myself.

"Do you have you laptop with you?"

"Yeah." She handed me her laptop and I woke it up. It was one of those nice Apple ones that she probably used for business. There was an open professional grade Google Sketch-Up with an amazing house on it. It was perfect. For me, that is. It was a yellow Victorian; it looked like the perfect way to sum up the American Dream, except there were remarkable details added on. There was a huge pool. But that was just the start. The porch had a number of large tanks with tropical fish in them. As I scrolled to the back yard, which was perfectly landscaped, the whole back of the house was a mural of the sea. It was flawlessly coordinated with everything. The yellow faded into the multi layers of the blue seamlessly. Then in the middle of the yard, it looked like a mini city made from blocks that you had the option of rearranging and building again. I was in love. Then my eyes traveled to the corner of the document where it says what it is named. My heart almost stopped in my chest. The title of the document was _Annabeth's Dream House_. This was my dream house. This must be a sign we were still meant to be together. Our dream house looked the same.

"Did you design this? I-I- I love it!" I was surprised my mouth didn't reach the ground it was open so far.

"Does it matter? It still doesn't prove you aren't insane. You are dressed as a woman." Oh, right. I took off my wig and fished the camera out of it. I popped the memory out of it and put it into the computer. When it automatically asked me what I wanted to do, I clicked the option view all videos. This was a mistake. The first video was of Nico dancing. That would have been scary by itself, if he hadn't been shirtless. Annabeth and I were both speechless. Finally she spoke.

"How does this prove anything?" I clicked next video. Finally it was what I was looking for. It was Noah in all his glory, hitting on me. We watched everything. A tear glided down her check. I reached over and brushed it off. She looked over at me, tears about to spill over. Just as I took a step forward, the uncomfortable part of my lovely home movie came on. I watched, my face turning a attractive shade of crimson. At least I earned a laugh. As the movie stopped, Annabeth turned towards me.

"My fiancé just hit on another man. How is that right? You don't even look like a woman, no offense." More tears came down.

"None taken. Maybe you shouldn't go home tonight. Just take off your ring for one night. You shouldn't belong to him anymore."

"I will, but you should really take off your make-up first." She led me into the bathroom and got out some cotton balls, face wash, and eye make-up remover. She went to work on my face, which felt much thicker than it should be. Ten minutes, eight cotton balls, and three face washes later, I was as good as new. We were back in the main part of the cabin.

"Annabeth, I think that it's time you take your ring off." She took a deep breath and held out her hand. She had the world's worst ring. The diamonds that haloed the outside were and awful light shade of brown. I was no expert jeweler, but this was low class. I reached out my fingers, and in a manner like a soon to be groom would put a ring on his soon to be bride I took the ring off Annabeth's finger. Or at least I tried to take the ring off. But it wouldn't budge. I yanked, and I pulled but it just wouldn't move. I bent over to take a closer look at the ring. It had started to glow bright blue. I put my fingers on it once more and felt as if I were being electrocuted. My vision went black.

I woke up in a cozy old home. There were many knitting needles, bit of yarn, and at least twenty pairs of scissors lying around. I couldn't figure out where I was. At least, or maybe crap, I heard voices from the other room. I walked towards the sound and saw three crippled old ladies fighting. I remembered them from my first quest. They were the three fates. The one who cut the yarn of life and the one who knitted the yarn were in a heated debate. The one who measured the yarn was asleep in the corner, snoring softly.

"She is destined to be with him. Not that thing that you found on the streets!" The knitter roared.

"Really, because Noah, if you hadn't noticed, Noah is a perfect match for Annabeth!" The cutter yelled. They were arguing about Annabeth's love life.

"Annabeth would have never met him if you hadn't spilled coffee on the sweater! It was a fluke. Brought on by your clumsiness!"

"That is what dealing with fate is all about. Maybe it wasn't the original plan, but the new plan is better, perfect."

"Really, I don't think that Athena is really happy about this, and for the record neither is Zeus!"

"If you have forgotten, there is a way that Percy can win her back. She just needs to say 'I love you' to him and then everything will go back to the original plan."

"Oh, how is he supposed to do that? The plan is a hard thing to fight."

"Sister, if you have done your knitting correctly, and Percy and Annabeth are truly meant to be together, it can be done. If I know anything about your knitting, it is hard to mess with."

"Thank you for the compliment, sister. I just hope it can be done. Percy and Annabeth made the perfect couple."

"I would argue that they, like Noah and Annabeth, they had their problems. Every couple does…."

The two continued their conversation, but my thoughts were already racing. An _I love you_? That's all it takes? But first that means making her fall in love with me again. I had time…. I had six days left. No! I only had five. Could I make her fall in love with me in five days? Did I have enough time?

These thoughts raced through my head as I regained consciousness.

"Percy are you okay? You scared me…" Annabeth came back into focus.

"I'm fine, just really tired." I fell into her bed and began to snore as if I were already asleep. Annabeth sighed and climbed in next to me. In my "sleep" I wrapped my arms around her. Again, in my "sleep" I murmured "I love you Annabeth". It made my heart swell when she whispered to herself "I think I'm starting to love you again, Percy." This was going to make a good story to tell our grand-children.


	5. Wasting Time, Without You

I awoke the next morning to Annabeth's cell phone ringing. Before I could rub the sleep out of my eyes, Annabeth had already finished the call. She took a second to look at me. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Good Morning, beautiful." Maybe being cheesy wasn't the right move with Annabeth, but I had to try everything in the book to get her to say _I love you_.

Her eyes grew a shade darker. So cheese was not the way to go to win Annabeth's heart back. If mortal men thought that figuring out mortal women was hard, then try being a male demigod trying to figure out another demigod's heart. Ten times worse.

"I have to go get my relatives from the airport, would you like to accompany me?" At least she was giving me a chance.

"Sure." I smiled at her

"Now, go, I have to get ready. She shooed me out of her cabin with a flick of her wrist.

I descended the stairs to run into one of Annabeth's siblings. From what I can remember, her name is Anna and she is fourteen. She looked so much like Annabeth, that it would be hard to tell the difference if they were the same age. She looked at me and smiled.

"I know that you can do it Percy." She slipped something in my hands and began to walk away.

"Wait! What are these for?" I asked

"They'll help you. You'll know when you need them." Just as she finished speaking, she opened the cabin door and walked inside. I looked down at my hands. I had about five pages of paper, which had faded slightly with age but were not very old in Greek standards. I also had a silver locket in my hand, it looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place quite place where I knew it from. I slid both items into my pocket and walked the rest of the way to my cabin, pondering where I knew the necklace from.

…

I couldn't decide on what to wear. I never have this problem. I didn't know if I should go with a tie or not. If I decided on wearing a tie, what color should it be? I thought women were supposed to have these problems, not me! This seemed like the hardest decision of my life! Even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew it wasn't true. The real answer was Annabeth. She was the decision that still plagued my dreams. When I was awake, all I could think about was how her hair looked in the sunshine, how her eyes would light up when she laughed, and how she didn't even have to try to look perfect, she just always did. In nightmares, I would have to watch her suffer, and die. Then a thought floated into my head. I was really in love. I knew I was in love before, but I was truly, madly, head over heels in love. All the time, my fingers and toes where tingly, that was the feeling I had when we shared our first kiss on Mt. Saint Helens. The sun shined brighter, the flowers smelled like they had been doused in my favorite perfume, the air was even sparkly! I marveled as the air continued to sparkle a bright pink. I stood with my mouth opened wide enough to catch an army of flies. Then the real world came crashing back. Air did not sparkle. It especially did not sparkle pink. I averted my eyes as the goddess of love came into my cabin. I looked back to see that a majority of the cabin was now covered in pink dust. I looked up to Aphrodite. She was dressed in a short, pink suit. She smiled at me.

"So, Percy, I hear we're having a little girl trouble." She smiled again.

"No… well…. Yes… maybe?" I stammered. I certainly was having girl trouble, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to take her advice.

"Trust me child, your love-life is in my hands, is it not?"

"Fine, yes, I'm having girl trouble." I felt funny admitting it, but at least it was the truth.

"I can't offer too much help," I narrowed my eyes at the goddess, "but let me just say. Go with the blue tie." She smiled

"You came from Mt. Olympus to tell me to wear a blue tie?" I said with suspicion

"Oh, no wait, thank you for reminding me!" She reached in her pocket and pulled out a gleaming pearl. The light danced off of it in cool ways. One ray of light hit it and the pearl gave off a pink glow. A different ray it, making it glow blue. She reached out and put it in my hand. "This pearl is very special. A person holds it, then set it down on the floor, and step on it. The next person they lay eyes on, they will fall in love with and the person they fall in love with will love them back. It's as simple as that!" She clapped her hands together as she finished her sentence.

"Thank you." I smiled at her. She smiled back at me. Aphrodite began to sparkle pink again, so I averted my eyes as she went. I stuck the pearl in my pocket, picked up my blue tie, and tied it as fast as I could. One thing was for sure, I wasn't going to use this pearl on Annabeth. I had a different idea for it entirely. I did a strange power walk over to Annabeth's cabin so I wouldn't be late, but I didn't want to look like a fool jogging with a tie on.

…

When I saw Annabeth emerge from the cabin, two thoughts ran through my head. First, was that she looked beautiful, as always. Her blonde hair was still damp and shone in the morning sun. She wore a light blue tank top with flower embellishments, and a pair of tan shorts. She looked better than Aphrodite had looked just a couple of minutes ago. The next thing that I realized was that I was painfully over dressed. Annabeth look casual, but chic. I looked like a twenty-one year old at their first job interview. I was never really great at picking out outfits when I was a teenager, and that showed through into my adult life.

"Ready to go, Percy?" She inquired. I smiled at her and opened the driver's side door for her, shut it, then sprinted for the passenger seat, no longer caring if I looked like an idiot in a tie.

"Navigate to JFK Airport." Annabeth told her GPS. In a couple seconds, the GPS had the route mapped out and began giving directions in its nasally British voice. _Turn left up ahead. _ We were off.

Since I moved away from New York, there hadn't been many things that I forgot. I never forgot the buildings, how to navigate, or the way Annabeth's smile lights up her face. I still knew how to get to my favorite pizza place, and the best shoes to wear. But, one thing that had slipped my mind was how horrid the traffic was. In total, our trip was only supposed to take fifteen minutes. That was until we hit morning rush hour. The traffic was backed up for miles. Annabeth drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to a tune that I knew quite well, but couldn't place. We inched closer and closer to our destination.

"I forgot how bad traffic was." I said trying to start a conversation

"Really? I'm not sure that I could ever forget this traffic! It almost seems like New Yorkers spend a good portion of their live stuck in traffic. I bet we could calculate that. So let me think…" Annabeth must be nervous, because she only babbles when she's jumpy. I tuned the rest of her babble out so I could think of an intelligent thing to say back to her.

"That's some serious math right there." I said in a moment of panic. Uh, I can never think of anything good to say when I'm nervous.

Annabeth smiled and laughed. "Oh Percy, you're still sixteen aren't you?"

"What?" I wasn't sure if I should feel complimented or not.

"When we were sixteen, you'd always do that. I'd be talking about one thing or the other, then you'd come out with a comment like that. I always thought that it was so sweet!" I gave her a horrified look. Did I always do that? "Oh, I'm not insulting you! I _still _think that it is sweet!" She smiled and continued driving. After a long while signs for JFK showed up, and we turned off the free-way.

Well, at least Annabeth thought that I was sweet. I was defiantly better than _I hate your guts_. But, can I turn that _I think you're sweet! _into an _I love you_? I'm going to find out soon enough. In three days time I am going to know if true love really is forever.

…

"Oh, there are my relatives." Annabeth said in a nonchalant voice. I knew that there was more emotion about her relatives. Since she was a little girl, Annabeth has despised her relatives. She once described them as "people who ignore you until you succeed or get married." I guess this was true, because I'd known Annabeth for a long time and I haven't met any one of them. _But you've been gone, _a sad tiny voice said in the back of my head. It is true. I have been gone. It hit me like a punch in the stomach. Would she ever forgive me? Looking at Annabeth now, I wonder how I could have been so ignorant. I just left and expected her to follow me. I used to think that is what true love was about. I used to think that true love met going wherever your other half went. I realize now, that I was painfully wrong. True love is about give and take. I took everything from her, but I haven't given anything. I was not self-less in the decision to move. I'd just packed up all my belongings and stabbed her in the heart. All the time that I've known her, I've just taken. We always went on _my _quests. She followed my orders, did most of the work for me, and stood by while I got all the glory. Even when we went on _her _quest, I was given a kiss, and then I disappeared for two weeks. She thought I was dead. How could I do all of these things to the person I love so much? Will she forgive me? Can she let me back in? Am I giving her a gift by being back here, or am I taking yet again?

"Percy, I would like to meet my extended family." Annabeth pointed and said the names of the three aunts, two uncles, and one cousin. I tried to pay attention, but I couldn't focus past Aunt Mildred. I willed my legs to cooperate as we walked back to the car. But, my ADHD overtook my brain and I sprinted for the shuttle bus to the city.

…

I found my way to John's Pizzeria. I used to come here to think, and indulge in the best pizza in NYC. I was so hungry that I bought myself three slices of heaven. I sat down to eat them in a table meant for two, but it was a table for one tonight. I sat down in my seat and dug in. As I eat, I study the graffiti on the table. There are a lot of couples' initials with a heart around them. I look at each one longingly; then I see something written in Greek. I recognize the handwriting as Annabeth's. It says: "Percabeth Forever". My heart stops at our old couple name. I remember the time that I brought her here. It was our third official date…

"Percy, you and I are the only ones eating tonight! You ordered two pizzas!" Annabeth teased.

"Women, you do not realize how much I eat! Two pizzas will barely be enough for me, let alone you!" I shot back. I was having the time of my life. Annabeth and I were actually acting like a real teen couple for once in our lives. It felt good to pretend to be normal. I no longer had to worry about Kronos, or Luke, or saving Olympus. Tonight, we could forget the world. Tonight it was just us and some pizza.

We talked for what seemed like ages, but it had only been about ten minutes. Our pizzas came out and I dug right in. Annabeth held back for a second, but soon joined me in devouring the pizzas. When we were done and all the plates had been cleared away, I couldn't help but stare at her. She was… indescribable. My heart filled to the brim with happiness every time I looked at her.

"What?" Annabeth asked. I guess I'd been staring too long.

"Nothing… Well, actually I was just thinking that you are the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

"Percy, stop it." She tried to look like she was serious, but I could tell that she was pleased with what I'd said. A smile spread across her face. She took out a black sharpie and wrote something on the table, and put a heart around it. I looked at what she wrote. It said "Percabeth Forever". I was confused.

"What's 'Percabeth'?" I asked. Annabeth looked at me like I should know the answer to this one.

"Well, that's you and me. Percy and Annabeth combined. It's… it's our couple name." She looked embarrassed. "We don't have to have a couple name. It can be changed if you wa-" I cut her off.

"No, it's great. We're not getting rid of it, because I love it." She smiled at me and I smiled back. Then I closed the distances between our faces and kissed her. That was the moment that I found out that pizza shop kisses are just as good or better than underwater kisses.

My phone vibrating woke me out of my day dream. I was getting a call from Chiron. I answered it, not very happy about being woken up from my day dream.

"Hello?" I asked in a voice that would not win most polite.

"Percy? I need you to come back to camp. There's been an accident." Chiron said in a grave voice.

"I'm on my way." I hung up my phone and high tailed it to the nearest water-way.

…

When I got there, everything seemed to be in order. No cabins were smoking, demigods were still training, and there was no evil monster that I had to take on. I ran around for a couple minutes looking for the threat, when Chiron spotted me.

"Percy, over here." I jogged to meet him

"Is Annabeth okay? Is Grover alright? What about Nico?" I asked in one breath

"Percy calm down. All of your friends are okay. This was not a magical accident, but an accident of the mortal kind." I gave him a confused look. "Percy, go to the gates of the camp. Someone is waiting for you." I was still confused. I jogged up to the gates to find Noah waiting for me.

"Percy, I really need to talk to you. My best friend was in an accident. He'll live but he can't come to the wedding. He was supposed to be my best man." Noah looked pained for a second, and then he continued. "Percy, will you be my best man?"


	6. Praying for No Rain

I was speechless. This was defiantly not what I was expecting. Best man? I couldn't stand by and watch Annabeth marry this awful guy. There was just no way, but something was holding me back. Why couldn't just turn him down? I looked Noah straight in the eye. Had he been serious?

"Percy, please. I need your help. Do it for Annabeth." He pleaded

Just an hour ago I'd promised myself that I would quit taking from Annabeth and start giving. I could be Noah's best man until I could figure out a way to break them up. This would be my first act of selflessness. I took two deep breaths in and then answered him.

"If that's what you need me to do, I'll do it." I can't believe these words were coming from my mouth.

"Thanks." At that, Noah turned and walked back to his car. What had I just done? I agreed to be my enemy's best man. Ugh. I knew that I was going to regret this.

I walked back to my cabin. With each step, my decision sunk in deeper and deeper. I opened my door and flopped on my bed.

"Hello, Percy." A female voice said. I was too weary to even react. I looked over and saw Athena seated in my breakfast nook.

"Hey." I said with a stifled yawn.

"Have you met with Noah yet?" She said with a smirk

"Yep. Meet the new best man." I said

"Percy, you agreed to be his best man? That was not the plan!" Athena roared

"Wait, what? What plan? We had a plan? I didn't know that!" Could my day get any better?

"Haven't you checked your mail lately?" She inquired

"Um, no?" I said, looking guilty at a pile of unopened mail on my nightstand. She gave me one of those looks that she and her children were famous for, one that I was almost used to seeing, but not quite.

"Percy, how are we supposed to break up this wedding, if I can't count on you to check your mail?" Athena asked with her eye brows raised.

"I'll do better next time?" I tried, but Athena made a noise at the back of her throat, and began to glow. So I averted my eyes as she went.

What was I supposed to do? How am I going to manage to break up this wedding without totally shattering Annabeth's heart in the process? I had my work cut out for me. I had a lot of man power, but to put that to good use, I need an idea. I had a silver locket, a pearl, and about five pages of paper that looked like someone had ripped them out of a diary. Because that's what usually goes in a "Breaking up a wedding/ Making the girl of your dreams fall in love with you" Survival kit. I took a second look at the pearl. That would be too easy. There was probably some terrible side effect that Aphrodite forgot to tell me about. Then, I took a closer look at the silver locket. On closer inspection, I noticed that it had the ability to open. I clicked it open and suddenly I remembered where I knew this from. It was Annabeth's locket that I'd given here when we graduated high school. How had I forgotten this? On one side there was a picture of us at graduation. Annabeth smiled brightly at the camera, while I kissed her check. She looked like she was laughing. On the mirrored side, was a tiny piece of paper tapped over the original engraving with a quote. It read: _There's this place in me where your fingertips still rest, your kisses still linger, and your whispers softly echo. It's the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me. –Gretchen Kemp. _I would have lifted up the edge of the paper to have read the original engraving, but I knew it by heart. It was kind of our couple's quote. We hadn't found a song that fit just right, so Annabeth decided that we should think outside the box. Our quote was: _A loving heart is the truest wisdom. –Charles Dickens. _Even thinking those words made my heart skip a beat. They made me smile. They made me want to go chain Noah to some tree, so I could take Annabeth away, and we could spend eternity together in peace. The world may work in strange ways, but not that strange.

I picked up the torn pages, which quite literally were ripped from a diary. The left hand side was jagged, while the right was smooth. At the top of the page were decorative flowers. I could tell that the person writing it usually had very nice handwriting, but on the page it was hurried, like the person writing it had been in distress. I read the first couple of lines. _It's been three days since Mt. Saint Helen's exploded. We still have no word from Percy. Is he injured? Does he need my help? Is he already dead? It seems like it's been years since I've seen him. I just want to see his face once again. Even if he doesn't reciprocate my feelings, I just need to know that he is okay. My heart longs for him… _I had to stop reading. This was from Annabeth diary after Mt. Helen's. Where had Anna gotten these? Even the first few lines broke my heart. Just another example of how I am selfish. Annabeth had filled these five pages within the first three days that I was gone. But, I couldn't fathom where Anna had found these. I needed to know. I whipped off my tie, took off my buttoned shirt, and set out in pursuit of Anna.

I found her reading under a tree reading a book. She was totally relaxed. Her brow wasn't furrowed and her shoulders were hunched forward.

"Shouldn't you be planning on how you're going to manage to break up this wedding?" She asked as she turned another page.

"I came to ask you about the articles you gave me." I asked. Anna still read on, almost as if she were trying to ignore me.

"Hmm, I told you: you will know when you need them. Now, shouldn't you be trying to mend your friendship?" She paused in her reading to look up at me, with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait, what? What is that supposed to mean?" What now?

"Well, Annabeth is sort of mad at you for leaving her at the airport." Anna gave me one of those sad smiles that says "sorry, sucks to be you".

"What? Ugh, I'll be back." All the progress I'd made, I ruined by running away on an impulse. Stupid me. Now that I was out of my shirt and tie, I didn't feel like an idiot running to Annabeth's cabin. When I got there she was hauling a very large suitcase. I went over to her.

"Annabeth, what are you doing?" I asked

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm moving the rest of my stuff from the cabin into my house." She gave me a look that said she thought I was crazy

"I thought that you weren't moving until after the wedding." My voice cracked on the word wedding.

"Well, plans change. I decided that it would be best if I was home and not at summer camp." She resumed trying to haul her suitcase. I stepped forward and took the suitcase from her grip. She tried reaching for it, but I swung it out of her reach. She reached for it again, but I did a quarter turn so her hand ran into the small of my back.

"Percy, come on. I don't have time for your childish games today. Give me my suitcase so I can go." Annabeth gave me a hard look.

"I'll give back your suit case," I paused for dramatic effect, "if you agree to stay and go unpack it." I said.

"That is not an option." She gave me a steely gray look.

"Then, I guess you just won't be getting your suitcase back." I gave her a smug smile

"Thanks. You never were the dependable type, were you?" Ouch, that last comment really stung.

"What do you mean? I've saved Western Civilization!" I shot back.

"I meant that you were never there for me." Um, again, ouch.

"I have been there for you. Why can't you see that I've always been here?" I gave her a look that hopefully conveyed how I was feeling.

"Percy you ran away from our relationship. Now, you've shown up five years later, being the perfect boyfriend," I raised my eyes at her choice of words, "that I wanted five years ago. Why weren't you this guy five years ago? Percy, you have to realize this, I'm getting married. I don't think that there is any time left for us." Her voice broke as she finished. Ugh, originally this _I love you _didn't seem like a hard thing to accomplish, now it seemed like I would need an infinite amount of time, which I didn't have. I dropped her suitcase and looked deeply into her eyes. I placed my hand on her cheek. I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. When she didn't slap me, I went in for a deeper kiss. We stood there for three glorious minutes kissing her, just like the old days. I caught my fingers in her hair and pulled her closer. But the magic stopped. She pushed on my chest, breaking our kiss.

"Percy, I can't do this anymore." A single tear slide down her cheek, leaving a wet snaking path down to her jawbone.

"Why can't you? Think of all the awful things that he's done to you! This isn't any worse." I was about ready to get to get down on my knees and plead with her.

"That doesn't make what we're doing right! He apologized for those things. We all have an Achilles' heel. That just is his." Her eyes looked almost hopeful. This was sick.

"You know what? If you stay with him, he's going to be yours."

She gave me a sad smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" I asked bleakly

"I have a final dress fitting and you have a tux fitting." She kissed me on the cheek, collected her suitcase, and made her way back into her cabin. Even though I had I really strong urge to follow her, I willed my feet to go back to Anna.

"Please, just tell me where you got the locket and diary pages." I pleaded with Anna.

"Why? What use is that information to you?" She needed to stop toying with my emotions and just tell me where she found them.

"Just tell me." I half growled at her.

"Well, one day Annabeth was really busy getting ready and asked me to go grab a pair of shoes, which were located under her bed. The first thing that I pulled out was a box that wasn't labeled, which surprised me, considering this was Annabeth. She labels everything. Curious, I opened the box. Inside I found the locket and a diary. I thought that they would come in handy one day. So I ripped the most important pages out of the diary, stuffed them and the locket in my pocket, and tried to act nonchalant about the whole thing." I believed the story about how she took the items, but I felt like there was something that she wasn't telling me. Anna snapped her book shut with finality and got up. Whatever she wasn't telling me, I wouldn't find out what it was now. It seemed like something I needed to know, the missing part of the story.

I got up and headed back to my own cabin. It had been a really long day, and I needed my rest. After putting my PJ's on, I flipped off the light switch, and climbed into bed. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was in dreamland.


End file.
